Julio Medem

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Medem and the second or maternal family name is Lafont.
Julio Medem
Medem at National Cinematheque of Mexico in 2010
Born
Julio Medem Lafont

(1958-10-21) 21 October 1958 (age 66)
San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain
Alma materUniversity of the Basque Country
Occupation(s)Director, screenwriter, producer, editor
Years active1974–present
Spouses
Lola Barrera
​
​
(m. 1976, divorced)​
  • Montse Sanz
Children3

Julio Medem Lafont (born 21 October 1958) is a Basque film director, producer, editor, and screenwriter.[1]

Biography

Medem was born on 21 October 1958 in San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain and showed an interest in movies since childhood, when he would take his father's Super 8 camera and shoot at night, while nobody was paying attention. After college graduation, with degrees in Medicine and General Surgery, he worked as a film critic and later as a screenwriter, assistant director and editor. After a few shorts, he directed his first full-length feature, Vacas (Cows) for which he won a Goya Award.

After this film he directed The Red Squirrel and Earth, both receiving good reviews at Cannes. His next film, Lovers of the Arctic Circle, has been compared to the works of Krzysztof Kieślowski[citation needed]. In 2002 was released his following film, Sex and Lucia.[2]

Medem explored the documentary format with his next production La pelota vasca ('The Basque Ball'), a film about the political problems of the Basque Country, which caused a furor amongst some victims of terrorism and far right politicians. Following this, his film Caótica Ana debuted in 2007.

Filmography

Feature films

Narrative films

Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor Ref.
1991 Cows Yes Yes No No
1993 The Red Squirrel Yes Yes No No
1996 Earth Yes Yes No No
1998 Lovers of the Arctic Circle Yes Yes No No
2001 Sex and Lucia Yes Yes No No
2007 Chaotic Ana Yes Yes Executive Yes
2010 Room in Rome Yes Yes Executive Yes
2015 Ma Ma Yes Yes Yes Yes
2018 The Tree of Blood Yes Yes Yes No
TBD 8 Yes
[3]

Documentary films

Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor
2003 The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone Yes Yes Yes Yes
2006 Uno por ciento, esquizofrenia No Idea Yes Yes

Short films

Super 8

  • El ciego (The Blind, 1974)
  • El jueves pasado (Last Thursday, 1977)
  • Fideos (Noodles, 1979)
  • Si yo fuera poeta... (If I Were a Poet, 1981)
  • Teatro en Soria (Theatre in Soria, 1982)

35 mm

  • Patas en la cabeza (Nutty As a Fruitcake, 1985)
  • Las seis en punta (Six on the Dot, 1987)
  • Martín (commissioned by TVE for their Siete huellas, siete [Seven Tracks, Seven] series of short films, 1988)
  • El Diario Vasco (The Basque Daily, 1989)

DV

  • Asi se hizo "Airbag" (making of Juanma Bajo Ulloa's film Airbag, 1997)
  • Clecla (commissioned by notodofilmfest.com, 2001)
  • La pelota vasca (segment of ¡Hay motivo! [There Is Reason!], 2003)
  • En las ramas de Ana (In Ana's Branches, commissioned by es:Fotogramas and Nokia for their N_ature movies series of short films, 2007)
  • Concha (Mussel, video installation commissioned by Acciona and shown at Expo 2008, 2008)

Music video

  • "Océano de sol" for Antonio Vega (1994)

Commercials

  • Runner for Audi's Attitudes campaign (agency: El Sindicato, 1999/2000)[4]
  • Soplo/Tendedero (Waft/Clothesline) and Mediterraneo (Mediterranean) for Balay (agency: FCB Tapsa, 2002)
  • Vecina (Neighbour) and Brazalete (Bracelet) for Heineken (agency: Dayax, 2003)

TV series

  • Jai Alai ( 2023)[5]

Books

  • Aspasia Amante De Atenas (2013)[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Rivera, Alfonso (March 22, 2010). "Interview: Julio Medem". Cineuropa.org. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Elvis (July 12, 2002). "FILM IN REVIEW; 'Sex and Lucía'". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Marroquín, Alberto (March 24, 2023). "De las aulas de la Universidad de Burgos a producir la última película de Julio Medem". El Correo de Burgos.
  4. ^ Hunter, Sandy (June 1, 2006). "Manifesto Destiny". Boards. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  5. ^ "'Jai Alai', la anunciada serie de Julio Medem, toma impulso". El Correo (in Spanish). November 26, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  6. ^ "Aspasia, Amante De Atenas de Medem, Julio 978-84-670-3476-9". www.todostuslibros.com (in Spanish). Retrieved April 8, 2022.

Further reading

  • Stone, Rob: Julio Medem. Manchester 2007 (Spanish and Latin American Filmmakers)
  • Evans, Jo: Julio Medem. London 2007 (Critical Guides to Spanish & Latin American Texts and Films; 71)
  • Angulo, Jesús/Rebordinos, José Luis: Contra la certeza: El cine de Julio Medem. San Sebastián/Huesca 2005
  • Ituarte Pérez, Leire: El imaginario posmoderno de la feminidad en la filmografía de Juanma Bajo Ulloa y Julio Medem. Bilbao 2007 (Tesis doctorales)
  • Bochnig, Julia: ''Von der großen Sehnsucht zu fliehen": Die Filme von Julio Medem. Remscheid 2005 (Filmstudien; 37)
  • Strigl, Sandra: Traumreisende: Eine narratologische Studie der Filme von Ingmar Bergman, André Téchiné und Julio Medem. Bielefeld 2007
  • Rodriguez, Marie-Soledad (ed.): Le cinéma de Julio Medem. Paris 2008
  • Falcioni, Davide: L'immagine eccessiva: Julio Medem e il suo universo magico. Bellocchi di Fano 2004 (Quaderni del Fano International Film Festival/Papermoon; 2)